The influx of cold air into an otherwise well insulated home (around doors and windows) accounts for approximately 30% to 50% of all heat loss, and additional heat losses occur with aluminum and steel door and window frames due to conduction through the metal to the outside.
Prior devices for sealing out cold and insulating against heat loss have generally been limited to stretching vinyl plastic across the window portion and fixing it as securely as possible. More than likely, the plastic is simply stretched over the glass and held in place either by nailing strips of wood over the edges of the plastic or perhaps simply taping the edges of the vinyl to the door or window frame, or the structural material surrounding the window frame.
In some instances, grooved frames have been permanently constructed on the outside of the window frame, the plastic stretched across the window, and then held over the window by securing it into a groove in the special frame, but the pumping action of the wind on the plastic installed on the outside of windows and doors forces the film to disintegrate in a short period of time. Therefore, these prior devices are only partially effective, and when placed on the inside of the door or window, do not present a decorative addition to the interior.
Moreover, no consideration appears to have been given to specifically eliminating the heat loss which results as a consequence of the conductance of the cold through the metal frame which surrounds many of today's windows and sliding doors - in addition to the heat loss due to the exposure of the glass. Right now, there is no convenient and effective permanent or removable framework for use with these metal sliding doors and windows which will insulate both the metal frame and the glass. In addition, no device is available which is also an acceptable addition to the interior decoration.
There are presently devices for use over the outside of the metal framed patio doors which help to keep out wind-driven rain, but such devices still do not solve the problem of heat loss through both the glass and the metal framework, and these devices are not suitable for use inside the structure as opposed to outside.